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2012 Heisman Trophy Contenders: Post-Week 5

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Aaron Murray made a big jump in the Heisman standings in Week 5.

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2012 Heisman Trophy Contenders: Post-Week 5</p>

Each week, the Athlon editors vote on the most prestigious award in all of college football. A 13-man conglomerate of college football gurus from Athlon Sports voted this week for their top Heisman Trophy candidates. The votes will be tallied and the result will be posted as the Athlon Sports Heisman Watch List every week of the regular season.

Voting: Each first-place vote receives 10 points. A second-place vote receives nine points. So on and so forth with a 10th-place vote receiving one point.

Since the college football season is five weeks old, we figured we would expand our Heisman voting to include some of the best college sports analysts and writers from around the nation. So instead of just nine Athlon editors, our Heisman voting panel is made up of a total of 13 respected members of the college sports media, including:

1. Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia (13 first-place votes)
Season Stats: 141-169, 1,728 yards, 20 TD, 0 INT, 20 att., 99 yards, TD
This was a showcase moment for the WVU signal caller. He threw for a school-record 656 yards and tied the Big 12 record with eight touchdown passes on an ridiculous 35-of-41 passing rate. He now leads the NCAA in passing efficiency and total offense and has yet to turn the ball over for West Virginia. No rest for the weary, however, as Smith leads his team into Austin, Texas for a huge game against the Longhorns. Next game: at Texas

Last

Name

Pos.

Team

Tot. Pts

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

Ballots

1.

(1)

Geno Smith

QB

W. Virginia

130/130

13

-

-

-

-

13/13

2.

(5)

E.J. Manuel

QB

Florida St

90/130

-

2

2

5

2

13/13

3.

(4)

Collin Klein

QB

Kansas St

88/130

-

2

4

3

2

12/13

4.

(3)

Braxton Miller

QB

Ohio St

87/130

-

4

2

-

5

13/13

5.

(11)

Aaron Murray

QB

Georgia

62/130

-

1

1

2

2

12/13

6.

(2)

De'Anthony Thomas

AP

Oregon

55/130

-

2

3

-

-

9/13

7.

(6)

Manti Te'o

LB

Notre Dame

37/130

-

1

1

-

-

8/13

8.

(7)

Matt Barkley

QB

USC

34/130

-

-

-

2

1

7/13

9.

(9)

Marcus Lattimore

RB

S. Carolina

29/130

-

-

-

-

1

8/13

10.

(12)

A.J. McCarron

QB

Alabama

23/130

-

-

-

1

-

6/13

11.

(10)

Jarvis Jones

LB

Georgia

19/130

-

1

-

-

-

5/13

12.

(15)

Marqise Lee

WR

USC

11/130

-

-

-

-

-

4/13

13.

(UR)

Sean Mannion

QB

Oregon St

8/130

-

-

-

-

-

3/13

14.

(16)

Barrett Jones

OL

Alabama

7/130

-

-

-

-

-

2/13

15.

(17)

Kolton Browning

QB

UL Monroe

6/130

-

-

-

-

-

2/13

16.

(UR)

Johnny Manziel

QB

Texas A&M

5/130

-

-

-

-

-

1/13

17.

(UR)

Stedman Bailey

WR

W.Virginia

5/130

-

-

-

-

-

2/13

18.

(14)

Johnathan Franklin

RB

UCLA

4/130

-

-

-

-

-

2/13

19.

(UR)

David Ash

QB

Texas

4/130

-

-

-

-

-

2/13

20.

(18)

Tajh Boyd

QB

Clemson

3/130

-

-

-

-

-

1/13

21.

(UR)

Kain Colter

QB

N'Western

3/130

-

-

-

-

-

1/13

22.

(UR)

Joseph Randle

RB

Oklahoma St

2/130

-

-

-

-

-

2/13

23.

(UR)

Stefphon Jefferson

RB

Nevada

2/130

-

-

-

-

-

1/13

24.

(UR)

Taylor Martinez

QB

Nebraska

1/130

-

-

-

-

-

1/13

2. EJ Manuel, QB, Florida StateSeason Stats: 69-94, 905 yards, 8 TD, 1 INT, 24 att., 188 yards, TD
It wasn't the same type of performance that earned him national notoriety two weeks ago, but Manuel led his team to a relatively easy road win over an in-state BCS conference rival. He threw for 242 yards and a touchdown in the 30-17 win. The top challenger to Geno Smith gets another tricky test this weekend on the road at NC State. He missed the last trip to Raleigh two seasons ago when FSU lost. Don't expect the same outcome this time around.Next Game: at NC State

3. Collin Klein, QB, Kansas State
Season Stats: 56-80, 758 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT, 63 att., 289 yards, 5 TD
CK7 got to rest his bloody elbows this weekend after the huge road win over Oklahoma. Kansas State now gets rival Kansas and Iowa State in the next two, making a 6-0 start for the Wildcats extremely likely.Next Game: Kansas

4. Braxton Miller, QB, Ohio State
Season Stats: 76-121, 933 yards, 8 TD, 3 INT, 90 att., 577 yards, 7 TD
Miller's toughness was on full display in the gritty road win over Michigan State this weekend. He carried the ball 23 times for 136 yards and threw the game-winning scoring strike late in the second half. He battled injury and willed his team to a 5-0 mark. He is the clearcut Big Ten POY and is the Big Ten's No. 2 rusher. He received the most second-place votes with four. Next Game: Nebraska

5. Aaron Murray, QB, GeorgiaSeason Stats: 89-130, 1,378 yards, 12 TD, 3 INT, 21 att., minus-8 yards, 3 TD
Murray had to battle with SEC East counterpart Tyler Bray more than he anticipated. But when the game was over, the Dawgs were unbeaten and their quarterback had another 286 yards and two touchdowns on his resume. He is leading the SEC passing efficiency and is second to only Bray in yards and touchdown passes.Next Game: at South Carolina

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